Westinghouse Electric Company to collaborate with DOE

Westinghouse Electric Company is seeking to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Energy in the development of the lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR), the company announced on Thursday.

“Nuclear energy is a critical part of today’s energy mix and will play an even larger role in the future to satisfy global demand for energy that is clean, safe, reliable and economical,” Westinghouse President and CEO Danny Roderick said. “Westinghouse’s vision is to be the first to innovate the next technology, and we believe an LFR plant will be the next advanced reactor technology to be deployed. Westinghouse and our partners have the experience and technical capability to bring it to market.”

Westinghouse submitted their design proposal in response to a competitive investment in advanced reactor concepts solicitation. The company states that the LFR design features compatibility with high efficiency fuel. The company recognizes that the proposed design would be in direct competition with low-cost electricity production technologies.

Besides nuclear energy generation, this form of reactor is expected to be viable in the production of hydrogen, and it would have potential as a water desalination mechanism, as well.

Westinghouse Electric Company specializes in the design and manufacturing of nuclear power plants and associated components.